Battle of the Severn
The Battle of the Severn was the next major engagement in the Welsh Campaign after the Battle of Newport. The battle took place in Monmouthshire in Wales and South Gloucestershire in England, and ended with the Welsh Republic and their Irish and Ulster allies defeating and annexing the English puppet state, the Dominion of Wales, as well as securing a beachhead on the east side of the Severn Estuary- the two pre-war bridge over the estuary having long since collapsed. Rogiet and Caldicot After the Capture of Newport in an extended siege and the destruction of most of the Royal English Navy's Bristol fleet at the Battle of the Bristol Channel, as well as the neutralization of most of the English shore guns on the Somerset Coast by air and naval raids, the Welsh Republic and their allies in the Gaelic Coalition held unquestioned control of the Bristol Channel. This allowed them to move on the Severn Estuary that guarded the channel from both land and sea. The first obstacles to the to the land advance were the forward English defensive lines on the hills of Highmoor and Wentwood, located west of the town of Rogiet. These positions were fortified with earthen and timber fortifications, including trenches, machine gun nests, mortar pit, and even dug-in tanks and artillery pieces. While most of the artillery mounted on the hills had been destroyed by Allied air strikes and counter-battery fire, the hills nonetheless presented a formidable obstacle to any approach on the towns of Rogiet and Caldicot. On the days leading up to the July 15th attack, artillery spotted using NIRA-made biplanes, as well as direct air attacks targeted the remaining strong points on the hills. The Northern attacking force, made up of a combination of New Irish, Welsh, and Ulster Forces assaulted the Wentwood, moving northeast from Newport, while the southern force, consisting mostly of Welsh and some English Republican forces attacked due east form Magor, an eastern suburb of Newport. Both attacks commenced at 0700 hours. The flat terrain east of Newport allowed tanks to maneuver quickly, however, some other vehicles were restricted to roads and proved easier targets. Most of the eight destroyed vehicles, however, were either tractor tanks or technicals, rather than pre-war armor, with only one Ulster pre-war Cavalier light tank being destroyed. The few remaining artillery guns, used as impromptu anti-tank weapons, were quickly destroyed by the guns of the Allied tanks as soon as they fired, betraying their location. As the vehicles climbed the gently sloping lower hillside of Wentwood, the heaviest pre-war Charger main battle tanks drew most of the fire from rockets and ATGMs, which their armor, cutting edge for the pre-war period, could typically survive. This helped reduce the number of Allied vehicle casualties. As they reached the upper slopes of Wentwood, however, the terrain became difficult for vehicles due to both the dense forests in areas that had not been directly hit by artillery and the felled trees and craters on the sites of artillery and air strikes. This made it impossible to maneuver armored forces further up on the hill, and two more slow-moving tractor tanks were destroyed as they attempted to negotiate the difficult terrain. In the end, Allied infantry units were forced to storm the fortifications and root out the defenders in close quarters combat, in which 80 Allied and over 200 English troops were KIA before the defenders surrendered at 0830 hours. The assault on the smaller, and less heavily wooded Highmoor Hill went more quickly, where armored vehicles could more easily support the infantry, and were within more direct sight of Allied vessels off shore, allowing for closer-in naval support. For this reason, the hill was taken by 0730 hours, allowing the Welsh Republican forces to push into the town of Rogiet to the south, attacking both from the north and east. By 0900 hours, Rogiet was in Allied hands. With Rogiet captured, Welsh Republican Army forces advanced east to the edge of the town of Caldicot. In spite of fire support from both land-based and naval artillery, as well as tanks attached to the unit, the advance into the town was slow, with infantry being forced to root out English positions hidden in the ruined buildings of the town. In the heavy street fighting that lasted for most of the day, in spite of Welsh forces moving in from both the north and west. To the north, after taken Wentwood, the next major target Llanmelin, the site of an Iron Age Hill fort that the English Army has converted into a firebase with multiple artillery guns, trenches, and mortar pits. While the Welsh and Allied armies had advanced east of the fort into Caldicot to the south, they remained under fire from the position in spite of heavy naval, artillery and air bombardment of the hill. At about 1000 hours, the Allied forces advanced on the hill, coming under heavy machine guns and mortar fire. While the hill was far smaller than Wentwood, it was heavily wooded, the bombardment having turned the forests into a mass of tangled snags of fallen trees. In spite of fire support from tanks, the first infantry assault was halted at the edge of the forest for over 15 minutes until fire support from the Allied armor and mortars could target and destroy the machine gun positions on the hill. Even after resuming the advance, the attack on the hill was slowed by the cratered terrain. Llamelin was not completely cleared until around 1145 hours. With the last hill fort defending Caldicot eliminated, the Allied forces to the north could push east to the coast and surround Caldicot to the north and east. By 1230 hours, the Welsh forces had taken the English positions in the ruins of Calidcot Castle, as well as the town of Portskewitt to the east of the town. While many English army, and in particular Welsh Dominion soldiers surrendered, several hundred holed up in the inner part of the city, taking the rest of the day to dislodge the most stubborn resistance and leaving much of Caldicot in ruins. Capture of Chepstow On the night of June 15-16, Welsh Republic and allied artillery fired on known English Royal Army strong points on surrounding Chepstow, as well as on the east side of the Wye and Severn within artillery range. At 0700 hours on the 16th, the attack begun, supported by artillery and ships in the Bristol channel. The main Allied force advanced along the pre-war highway M48, encountering first major resistance near the villages of Mathern and Newton Green, where the English Royal Army had placed gun positions, vehicles, and snipers in structures and forests. These defenses, however, were relatively sparse and cleared by 800 hours. Beyond these defense, however, stood the densely packed town of Chepstow. While the town was heavily damaged by artillery and air attacks in the preceding days, many defensive positions remained. In the attack, Welsh and Allied forces came under heavy fire from the ruined structures. While the Allied forces had more pre-war main battle tanks, which proved resistant to most weapons, they were few in number, multiple APCs and tractor tanks were disabled or destroyed. By 1000 hours, the Allied forces had only cleared a few hundred meters of the city, their armored vehicles being unable to maneuver in the ruined streets of the town. For this reason, clearing the town was reduced to a bloody close quarters combat. During the night of June 16th to 17th, the English Royal Army attempted a surprise counterattack. The attack was ultimately repulsed, though reinforcements intended for the advance the next day had to be scrambled to the front. With many of the the Welsh Republican Army's frontline forces having suffered casualties and fatigue, the offensive the next day was blunted. It would not be until 1920 hours on June 17th that Bulwark, the southern neighborhood of Chepstow would be secured. By 1200 hours on June 18th, the Welsh and Allied offensive had continued, slowing but surely pushing the English Royal Army back to the area of Central Chepstow that juts out into the River Wye. By 1300 hours, the Welsh and Allied forces had cleared the remains of the Chepstow Rail Station and St. Mary's Church, and were engaged in heavy fighting in on the High Street. At the same time, The 2nd Brigade of the Welsh Republican Army, launched an attack Chepstow Castle. While three tractor tanks and 28 men were lost in the initial assault, the defenders were finally suppressed by fire from tanks and artillery stationed outside of the town, allowing the assault on the medieval castle. Like many of the pre-war structures in downtown Chepstow, the castle suffered considerable damage from artillery fire, including the northeast gate collapsing, two other breaches in the walls, and two towers destroyed. As the English Royal Army made a last stand in Chepstow Castle, Royal Army engineers placed explosives on the bridges of the Wye. The more northern Bridge Street Bridge was destroyed, while the newer bridge on the pre-war highway A48 suffered some damage, but survived and was secured by Welsh and NIRA troops at 1400 hours. By the end of June 18th, the city of Chepstow as secured. Raglan-Monmouth Offensive To the north of the main offensive towards Caldicot and Chepstow, the Welsh Republic and Allied forces launched a supporting operation against the Dominion of Wales and Kingdom of England northern Monmouthshire, with Welsh Republican forces advancing east from Abergavenny. The attack began at 0900 hours on July 16th, with Allied forces pushing their surrounding and clearing the small town of Raglan within two hours. By the end of the day, they had pushed as far as the outskirts of the town of Monmouth, but were temporarily halted by artillery fire from Monmouth and the Forest of Dean on the west side of the River Wye. On July 16th, additional artillery was brought up and began firing on the English positions, while what air support was available was deployed to engage positions on the east side of the Wye. After it was decided the positions had been sufficiently suppressed, a second attack was launched into the Monmouth at 1000 hours on July 17th. The attack managed to take a group low hills west of Monmouth within an hour. After this point, Welsh forces began pushing into Monmouth proper, though their advance was slowed by defenses on the east side of the Wye, as well as troops in the city proper. The assault was also hampered by the smaller numbers of armored vehicles in the northern force, with most of their armor consisting of improvised armored cars and tractor tanks, as most of the rare surviving pre-war vehicles were deployed in the attack on Chepstow. Welsh forces would not completely suppress English and Dominion forces until July 19th, by which point additional air and artillery support would become available after the fall of Chepstow. Crossing the Wye The East Severn Beachhead Category:Battles Category:Events